The House and the Rat- a story completely unconnected to the upcoming Referendum(b)

Septimus Dingle was a man with a large old house and a family he loved dearly. But one day, his youngest daughter came to him and said that she was sure she'd seen a rat near her bedroom at the top of the stairs. Or it might have been a mouse. She didn't know. but it was always exciting to tell tales and see what her father would do next. And it certainly worked this time. 

The Curse of the Certain Sort of Granny

It is time to make a stand against Grannies. Or at least, a certain sort of Granny. There are too many of them, and government statistics reveal that they will form the majority of the British population by 2025. So like it or not, we are all turning into Grannies, or something like them. Some would say this is not a bad thing. After all, Grannies give you hugs, they bring you treats, and sometimes they even let you stay up late when they’re babysitting because Mummy's gone out ram-raiding.

Florence Foster Jenkins and the importance of being crap

Many years ago when I was younger and fitter (best beloved) I did a fair bit of rock-climbing with ropes at a club in Birmingham that had lots of artificial cliffs and people who could dangle over the side of a sheer drop by one fingernail. After one session, I could hardly lift the tab on my Coke can or turn the key to start my car. But in the canteen, I came across a climbing magazine sporting the wonderful title 'The Importance of Being Crap' which extolled the virtues of Not Being Quite Good at Something. Because Being Crap gave you something to aim for, something to admire about people who Definitely Weren't Crap, and it kept you healthily humble.

'Florence Foster Jenkins' is the title of a wonderful new film about the celebrated eccentric (as in 'I am an individual, You are eccentric, She is Barking Mad') lady whose fortune enabled her to sponsor all sorts of musical events across New York City in the early 1940s.

Captain America: Civil War (contains spoilers)

Right then, having seen the aforesaid Marvel movie, let's sum it up as follows...

ITV’s 'The Secret': The Trouble with Masks

ITV’s latest crime drama The Secret is a riveting study of manipulation by a sexual predator, who just happens to be a youth leader and worship leader in a Baptist Church. That’s the central premise of a drama based on a real-life murder case in Northern Ireland.

Celebrity Death Bingo, 2016

Now... this Grim Reaper nonsense is all getting a bit silly. Those of us baby-boomers born in the halcyon days of the late 1950s and early 1960s have certainly had certain advantages.

1) We saw all the best bands before they were charging £50 a ticket to see them at the back of an arena. (My personal favourite: Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Newcastle City Hall, 3 support acts including a Punch and Judy show and all for £7.50. And they were throwing out free lapel badges at the end.)

Why So Much XXXXXXX Swearing?

I went to see the comedian Mark Thomas in Newcastle last night, doing his 'Trespass' stand-up tour. Mark's a political activist in the best sense of the term. He's the sort who stages weirdly humorous stunts to shame councils and corporations and politicians into doing the right thing when it's easier for them not to.